


Burnt Bridges

by SarcasticACE



Category: Hollywood U: Rising Star
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:21:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22291762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarcasticACE/pseuds/SarcasticACE
Summary: Bianca is invited to speak with Piper at her new office, but she's late. As she waits, Bianca tries (and fails) to fights off memories of her father when he used to own the place. Piper and Bianca haven't always gotten along, but take new steps towards something new.
Relationships: Bianca Stone/Main Character, Bianca Stone/Main Character (Hollywood U)





	Burnt Bridges

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this several years ago as an anon request for MCxBianca. Now I'm reuploading it here. Besides some spelling and grammar mistakes I caught, I've done little editing because I wanted it to be representative of my writing from back then. If that makes sense. I might come back and rewrite it (as a new post) if I find the inspiration. Always a sucker for a good 'enemies to shaky friends to lovers'.

Bianca’s footsteps resonate through the hallway as she strides down to her father’s office, or rather, former office. He had lost it weeks ago, to Piper of all people, as one of the many consequences of Sisterhood. Bianca winced at the memory, her ears ringing at the reminder of that family meeting days after its release. It was his movie, his failure, and yet he found a way to blame Bianca for it.

He wasn’t here, but that fact didn’t stop Bianca’s heart from thumping away in her ribcage. Threatening to burst free and flee. She found herself subconsciously dragging her fingers along the walls, like she had done as a child, in a vain attempt to act as an anchor and halt her progress. It only takes a minute to reach Piper’s office and when she does, Bianca waits. Her hands gripping the handles of the door, her breathing shake for just a moment before she shakes her head and throws open the office doors.

She approached the desk, remembering the countless disappointing looks he’d give her while sitting at it, but instead finds it unoccupied. Her father and Piper nowhere to be found. Bianca inched closer and her nose twitched. While her father was long gone, his odor remained. The stench of booze polluting the air and stealing her breath. Bianca remembered, when Piper had first bought the office, driving out to buy Febreze and some air fresheners for the desk drawers. Piper had been so proud when she finally rid her office of the final traces of her father’s pungent scent. Bianca agreed, the smell was gone, but the memory remained.

Bianca stumbles over to the window, whipping out her phone from her back pocket to fire Piper a text. Where the fuck are you? She braces a hand against the window, inhaling and exhaling deeply. Seconds past, then minutes. Still no response.

“Typical,” Bianca growled and sent another text, this time not being so polite. She shoved it back into her pocket, turning on her heel to lean against the window frame with her shoulder. Bianca tapped her foot on the carpet, scowling at every corner of the room. Actively avoid gazing at his desk.

It was stupid, Bianca knew that. It was just a desk. A stupid, ugly, cheap knock off her father bought from Ratzik. A best friend's discount. Bianca shook her head, running a hand through her hair to herd the stray strands back into place before she began a staring contest with the floor. Intent on burning a hole right through the floor.

Seconds passed like hours and her phone grew heavy in her pocket. Bianca allowed the floor victory this one time. After a dozen or so checks, a minute had passed. Bianca snarled and swiped her phone open, firing off a third text. She smashed the send button and shoved the phone back in her pocket. She tried to steady her breathing, counting each breath but was cut short by a strange sound. Buzzing, but muffled. Bianca looked around the room, trying to identifying the source. Frowning as her eyes settled on the desk.

“Of course,” Sure enough, Piper’s phone was there. In the bottom drawer, where Bianca’s father once kept his scotch glasses. Bianca plopped into the chair, snatched Piper’s phone out of the drawer and swiped it open. Frowning upon seeing a lock screen and a picture of Piper and Addi in the background. Their cheeks pressed against each other and their tongues sticking out. They were disgustingly cute.

Bianca dropped the phone back in the drawer, smiling devilishly as it landed with a thud. “Good,” Bianca spat with as much venom as she could muster, launching herself out of the chair and around the desk. The energy to pace around and sulk faded with a few steps. So, instead, she decided to prop herself against the front of the desk. Piper left her phone, which meant she has to still be in the building. Right? She shouldn’t be that much longer.

She looked down at the desk, running her fingers along the polished wood finish. Her eyes lingering upon a small crevasse, no bigger than her pinkie, in the far corner. Bianca remembered chasing her sister into this room and over the desk. She remembered her father’s words, thirty minutes later, while Desiree left scot-free. Skipping along through the office door to get ice cream in the cafeteria. Idiot! I don’t want you touching my desk with you grimy, candy grubbing fingers! Bianca lifted herself up so that she was now sitting atop his desk. No, his former desk. He’d never be sitting at it again, she had made sure of that. Bianca swung her legs, pounding her heels against the desk in a steady. “Fuck you.”

“You kiss your mother with that mouth?” Bianca lifted her head, meeting Piper’s amber eyes as she strolled into the room, swinging a set of keys around her finger. Not to her car, Bianca thought. She was sure she saw it walking across the parking lot. It must be to a movie filming set. Was this her way of informing me of where she’ve been? Seeing Piper’s dorky smile made Bianca’s expression sour. That cheeky grin Piper would make whenever she’d think she said something funny. In the right light, one could almost see the glint in Piper’s eyes when she managed to draw out a smile or snort. The sight was irritating to say the least and Bianca refused to give Piper the satisfaction. “Glad you could make it.”

“You’re late,” Never once breaking eye contact, Bianca made a point to wiggle in her perch. It might belong to Piper, but for the moment, Bianca wasn’t about to give it up anytime soon. 

Piper scratched the back of her head like she often did. Averting her eyes. “Sorry about that. Had some, ah, trouble… getting shooting to start today.”

Bianca watched in silence as Piper walked to the other side of the room, laying her shoulder bag on the couch. “I heard. I’m sorry about Addi. She, umm, didn’t deserve all that. Any of it.”  
“Feeling guilty?” Piper said, shooting a look over her shoulder. It wasn’t a look Bianca was used to seeing on Piper. Gone was her smile, her playful and flirty eyes, and in its place a cold stare that rivaled even her father’s. Piper hung up the suit jacket she had been wearing and pulled on a hoodie, stalking back over.

“Yes, that’s…that’s why I’m apologizing.”

“I’m not the one who needs apologizing too.” She’s four feet away now, arms crossed, searching Bianca’s face. Deceit, perhaps. It was a habit of hers, trying to see if Bianca’s features would betray her, alert her to some master plan Bianca must be planning. There wasn’t one. This company, Piper’s company, meant as much to her as it did to Bianca. She had betrayed her father and sister to ally with Piper, she had no reason to distrust her. She knew as well as Bianca did that she had nothing to go back to. Given their history, or more specifically her history with Addison, Bianca understood why Piper might hate her. 

“I know. She’s been avoiding me.”

“With good reason, don’t you think?”

“Yes, yes. I know. I’m horrible. I’m trying to be better, okay?” Her words had come out more hurt then angry. Bianca tried to hide it by needlessly adding venom to her next question. “Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?”

Piper doesn’t respond right away. Instead, she keeps staring at Bianca. It made Bianca uncomfortable, not the staring, but having the only person left to care about her still hate her. Shae and Jenni had left her, as did Lance weeks later, all with good reason. She didn’t want to be alone. 

The pink-haired director’s features soften after a minute. She looks down at her feet before returning back. “No. No, sorry, I…just wanted to see how you were doing.”

“Hell of a way to kick off a conversation.”

“Sarcasm, you’d love my brother.” Piper strolled around the desk to retrieve her phone. Letting out a short laugh upon reading some text message. “Mind getting your butt off my desk?”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.” It was a rare sight, to see Piper angry given how goofy and carefree she normally acted. Which, Bianca assumed, only made the sight even scarier when she did lash out. And now it was like it never happened, like Piper couldn’t be any happier with herself. It was unsettling, to say the least, but for the moment her smile was warm and comforting. It made Bianca at ease as she proceeded to own Piper in their staring contest. Piper blinked and took a few steps back to lean against the arm of the opposing chair. “So, is there anything else you wanted to ask me, cause as much as I loved this riveting staring contest of ours, I’ve quite busy.”

Another pause, Bianca’s brows scrunched up as she watched Piper think. It was cute, Bianca thought before quickly shaking her head free of that imagery. Piper? Cute? No, not in this lifetime, but…she’s been nicer than most these past couple months. One of the only few people who still talked to Bianca.

“I heard a, umm, rumor and…I just wanted to know if it was, if you were okay?”

Bianca blinked. Was that it? It’s not like this was made public knowledge, but Bianca hadn’t been trying to keep it some deep dark secret. “What rumor?” She asked, like she didn’t already know. Maybe she could avoid the conversation altogether, in the off chance Piper had meant something else. Like how she tripped over nothing the other day during a shoot. 

Piper crossed her arms. “The one where you changed your name.”

So she did find out. Not that it mattered. Yeah, she changed her name. It wasn’t like her father and sister hadn’t disowned her anyways, so Bianca thought, why not make it official? Cut the last remaining trace between them, other than blood, but there wasn’t much she could do about that. Discarding her family name felt just as good. “That’s right,” Bianca said, shrugging it off as no big thing. “Finally burned down that bridge.”

“I guess congratulations are in order,” Piper said, offering a weak smile. Bianca returned it and Piper seemed to relax, rising from her seat.

“I’ll settle for a drink.”

“I’d get you one, but this office is understocked, at the moment.”

“Mmmm, I should really get back to work. Thanks for the, umm, talk…I guess?” 

Bianca gets up to leave but is stopped when Piper reaches out and grabs her hand. “Hey, if you want to talk…my door is always open.”

Bianca looks down at her hand, the way Piper’s thumb runs over her knuckles and back again. She grips her fingers. “Thanks,” She tugs at her hand, gentling pulling her forward so she could hear her words. “I still expect you to buy me that drink.”

She smiles back. “It’s a date.”


End file.
